Aaron Cook hangs in after spiking, but the Orioles hang another loss on the Red Sox

APBoston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine has watched his team go 1-9 at home since April 15.

BOSTON - Bobby Valentine keeps asking his pitchers if they want to stay in there.

They keep saying yes, and the results keep turning out wrong.

"I told Cookie, it's on you. If you can throw, throw,'' the Red Sox manager said after Aaron Cook's debut had ended in the third inning of Saturday's 8-2 loss to Baltimore at Fenway Park.

In the second inning, Cook had been spiked near his left knee by Chris Davis, who scored on a passed ball with the pitcher covering home.

Reliever Clayton Mortenson came in from the bullpen, but Cook was checked out and stayed in the game.

Valentine remained consistent in one respect. He has always said he trusts the medical people on matters of health.

"The medical staff said he should be fine,'' Valentine said.

Cook had the option of leaving the game. Having spent months preparing to pitch for the Red Sox, though, the often-injured former Colorado pitcher wasn't about to do that.

"At first, I didn't think it was that bad. Then Salty (catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia) said I might want to have it checked, because blood was coming out,'' Cook said.

"I don't know if it was the best decision, but it was my decision.''

"I thought he could get a couple of outs for us. With a short bullpen (after Friday's 13-inning loss, when six relievers were used), I thought we could get lucky,'' Valentine said.

The trainers numbed up Cook's leg, which later required stitches.

In the third, the Orioles teed off on Cook. Adam Jones' two-run home run was the big blow.

Cook left with a 5-0 deficit and two men on base. Mark Reynolds greeted Mortenson with a three-run homer, capping a seven-run rally that made it 8-0 and left Cook with a 20.25 ERA.

In the seventh inning on April 16, Valentine left it up to a tiring Daniel Bard to decide if he should stay in a scoreless game against Tampa Bay.

Bard said yes, then walked in the only run of a 1-0 loss.

Cook was starting because Josh Beckett's start was skipped. Prior to last week's 126-pitch start at Chicago, Beckett had not told Valentine his latissimus was bothering him.

All of this is unsettling to a team that has lost four straight and is 1-9 at Fenway since April 15.

The Red Sox were 11-15 and in last place after 26 games last year, too, but they are falling farther off the pace this year. The momentum of the recent 6-1 road trip is gone.

With Beckett expected to make his next start Thursday, Cook's role beyond Saturday was uncertain even before the injury.

Cook did not know his routine for Sunday, let alone beyond. He said he would wait to see how he felt, one day after the game he had dreamed about - his long-awaited debut with the Red Sox, who had given him what he called "a fresh start.''

Before the game, Valentine was asked why the Red Sox had not played well at home.

"We have played well at home. We just haven't won the games,'' he said.

They didn't play well Saturday. The homestand ends Sunday, and for this reeling team, that might be just as well.